STAGES OF A MENTORING RELATIONSHIP
Stage 1: Developing Rapport and Building Trust
The “getting to know you” phase is the most critical stage of the relationship. Things to expect
and work on during Stage 1 include:

Predictability and consistency
During the first stage of the relationship, it is critical to be both predictable and
consistent. If you schedule an appointment to meet your mentee at a certain time, it’s
important to keep it. It is understandable that at times things come up and appointments
cannot be kept. However, in order to speed up the trust-building process, consistency is
necessary, even if the young person is not as consistent as you are.

Testing
Young people generally do not trust adults. As a result, they use testing as a coping or
defense mechanism to determine whether they can trust you. They will test to see if you
really care about them. A mentee might test the mentor by not showing up for a
scheduled meeting to see how the mentor will react.

Establish confidentiality
During the first stage of the relationship, it’s important to establish confidentiality with
your young person. This helps develop trust. The mentor should let the mentee know that
whatever he or she wants to share with the mentor will remain confidential, as long as
(and it’s important to stress this point) what the young person tells the mentor is not
going to harm the young person or someone else. It’s helpful to stress this up front,
within the first few meetings with the mentee. That way, later down the road, if a mentor
needs to break the confidence because the information the mentee shared was going to
harm him or her or someone else, the young person will not feel betrayed.

Goal setting (transitions into Stage 2)
It’s helpful during Stage 1 to take the time to set at least one achievable goal together for
the relationship. What do the two of you want to get out of this relationship? It’s also
good to help your mentee set personal goals. Young people often do not learn how to set
goals, and this will provide them with the opportunity to set goals and work toward
achieving them.
Stage 2: The Middle—Reaching Goals
Once trust has been established, the relationship moves into Stage 2. During this stage, the
mentor and mentee can begin to start working toward the goals they set during the first stage of
the relationship. Things to expect during Stage 2 include:

Closeness
Generally, during the second stage the mentor and mentee can sense a genuine closeness
in the relationship.
Courtesy of Mass Mentoring Partnership, Mentoring 101 Train the Trainer Curriculum.

Affirming the uniqueness of the relationship
Once the relationship has reached this stage, it’s helpful to do something special or
different from what the mentor and mentee did during the first stage, which helps affirm
the uniqueness of the relationship. For example, go to a museum, sporting event, special
restaurant, etc.

The relationship may be rocky or smooth
All relationships have their ups and downs. Once the relationship has reached the second
stage, there will still be some rough periods. Mentors should be prepared and not assume
that something is wrong with the relationship if this happens.

Rely on staff support
Stage 3: Closure
If the rough period continues or if a mentor feels that the pair has not reached the second stage,
he or she shouldn’t hesitate to seek support from the mentoring program coordinator. Sometimes
two people, no matter how they look on paper, just don’t “click.” Some mentor/mentee pairs
don’t need to worry about this stage until farther down the road. However, at some point all
relationships will come to an end—whether it’s because the program is over, the mentor is
moving or for some other reason. When this happens, it’s critical that the closure stage not be
overlooked. Many young people today have already had adults come and go in their lives and are
very rarely provided the opportunity to say a proper goodbye.

Identify natural emotions, such as grief, denial and resentment
In order to help mentees express emotions about the relationship ending, mentors should
model appropriate behavior. The mentor should first express his or her feelings and
emotions about the end of the relationship and then let the mentee do the same.

Provide opportunities for saying goodbye in a healthy, respectful and affirming way
Mentors shouldn’t wait for the very last meeting with their mentees to say goodbye. The
mentor should slowly bring it up as soon as he or she becomes aware that the relationship
will be coming to a close.

Address appropriate situations for staying in touch
Mentors should check with the mentoring program coordinator to find out the policy for
staying in touch with their mentees once the program has come to an end. This is
especially important if the program is school-based and mentors and mentees meet during
the school year but the program officially ends before the summer starts. If mentors and
mentees are mutually interested in continuing to meet over the summer, they may be
allowed to, but with the understanding that school personnel may not be available should
an emergency arise. Each mentoring program may have its own policy for future contact
between mentors and mentees. That’s why it’s best for mentors to check with program
personnel during this stage.
Courtesy of Mass Mentoring Partnership, Mentoring 101 Train the Trainer Curriculum.